编者按：本文作者（美国）Ms. Pia Giammasi，中文名：纪雅云，1964年出生于意大利，成长于美国，在美国麻省大学法律系毕业后，前往亚洲寻觅东方智慧，寻道之旅遍历亚洲内外，其中包括中国、印度、尼泊尔、斯里兰卡、越南、德国等，现长期住在台湾地区。在过往三十余年，雅云深研佛学及投入佛法修证，并同时致力于多项工作包括教育、翻译、项目管理等。她在厦门大学中医系获取中医专业本科及针灸专业本科文凭，在斯里兰卡的凯拉尼亚大学的巴利语与佛学研究院获硕士学位。她是南怀瑾先生著述《金刚经说什么》《孔子和他的弟子们》的英文版译者，《论语别裁》英文版译者之一。她亦是至善社会福利基金会的创办人之一及长期参与工作者。她同时研究茶道、瑜伽、八卦掌、太极、古琴。雅云认为，人活在世上应当对人类有所贡献。雅云希望继续翻译南怀瑾老师的部分著作及若干佛学经典。
本文源自南怀瑾学术研究会、南怀瑾文教基金会，英文版附后，作者授权发表，转载请注明出处。
文/（美國）Ms. Pia Giammasi 中文名：紀雅雲
中文版譯者：Grace Chan 潤稿：張慧如，朱育賢
穆穆清風至，吹我羅裳裾。
青袍似春草，草長條風舒。
（漢，佚名，穆穆清風至）
我於1989年遇上 南師（南懷瑾先生），命運安排我和他住在香港同一街道上。我在佛教圖書館認識 宏忍法師，一位比丘尼。她安排我和 南師見面。
我是一個從西方來到東方尋覓智慧的人，當時並無預期除了遇到一個老師，更會遇見一個無邊無量的寶庫。
我那時的中文水平很差，但對 南師的說法心領神會。第一次見 南師時，他問我是否在靜坐修習中遇上困難。我告訴他，妄想會影響我的禪境。 南師便問我：妄想從那裏來? 我尋找它的根，並觀照到妄想沒有來處。我於是告訴 南師。 南師繼續問我：妄想離開後去了那裏? 我再次尋找並觀照到，妄想消失後沒有去處。我告訴南師我的體會。他直視我雙目，然後說: 「對，那就沒事了。」
由於我的住處靠近 南師，他吩咐我每天晚上一起用餐。我非常幸運一天又一天都和他同桌吃飯，並聆聽他將他的智慧佈施予各階層來拜訪他的客人。其他同學盡力幫助我了解他的教晦，而我的中文亦漸漸進步。
時間經年累月的溜走， 南師慢慢打破我對佛法、修行及得道的舊觀念，破除我固有成見的局限，他教導我不要執著妄想，並應觀照妄想的背後是甚麼。
南師是一位卓越翩翩的君子，他個子小但有很深的輪廓，他通常穿著深藍色的中國傳統長衫，及一雙功夫鞋。在他椅旁的枱上，總會有一杯熱的烏龍茶、花生米及一條小小折疊整齊用來抹手的濕毛巾。他的椅子只有 南師坐， 南師有非常獨特的音聲。他的音聲表現不同的情緒——有時候如湖水的平靜安穩，有時候像潺潺的泉水，有時候仿如濤濤的汪洋。但不管在甚麼情況下，他的音聲深沉而洪亮。
我在 南師身上所學到的，很難用言語形容。他灌輸的智慧不停在我生命中化現。例如，他教導我穿透文化包裝的外衣，放下先入為主的概念及成見，看所有事物的本質。最重要的是，他教導我從「體、相、用」三大角度認清事物。
在日常生活中，南師強調要認清自已扮演的角色及隨之而來的責任的重要性。很多問題之所以產生是因為人沒有認清自己應擔當的角色。假若是一位在家修行人，他必須平衡他對工作、家庭的責任及他修行的本分。他必須學習如何把他的工作及家庭融入他的修行。另一方面，如果一位行者有出家的使命，他必須身心投入修証佛法。由於我本身扮演了許多角色， 南師這個開示對我尤為重要，並啟發我將我的精力如何按照輕重緩急，配合我每一角色的不同責任。
當我的中文漸漸進步，我可以協助西方來的客人的翻譯工作。1997年，彼得·聖吉（Peter M. Senge）及其他外國的行者在香港太古廣場一周的禪修活動，便是由我來擔當翻譯工作。在禪修活動前一年，我在進行《金剛經說甚麼》的翻譯工作。當時我不時請教 南師那本書的不同段落，以確實我正確無誤了解相關的內容。《金剛經說甚麼》的英文翻譯在2005年出版。
（1997年攝於香港太古廣場）
最近我在進行《論語別裁》的翻譯修訂工作，在這過程中，我更深入讚嘆孔子及他欲為當時社會所做的事。 孔子和 南懷瑾老師的一生有很多相同之處。他們兩人都活在動盪的時代，而且都要離鄉別井飄泊，到晚年才重回故國。他們是老師，在很多領域，文學及生活上都有卓越的見解。但他們不是一般的傳統學者，而且他們對在象牙塔內做學術研究的學者沒有很高的評價。他們把世法及出世法融會結合，他們的學生有各階層的人，不同領域的領導人向他們徵詢意見，而他們身邊總是被忠心耿耿的追隨者圍繞著。當然，亦不乏在其間攀緣附會之人。
他們兩位最擔心的是人類的道德淪亡，文化及社會秩序的退化。我相信正因如此，南師更深入古書，入聖賢心、穿梭古今，去解析他們對當世以及後世產生的巨大影響。南師追索二千幾百年前孔子、老子、孟子的思想，而這些聖哲本身亦追索遠古的堯、舜等。聖哲一位接一位，在時代變異的巨輪不停轉動時，在動亂的年代，繼承以往先賢的絕學，務使文化的寶藏可傳於後世的人類，而不被湮沒。
在這個虛擬經歷、超級連接及資訊超負荷的年代，新世代對於傳統文化的接觸及了解已是迅速退減。我們現今正處於與人類歷史的斷層，當故有的文化、習俗及社會結構逐漸裂解，家庭及感情的聯繫蒼白無力，通過實際經驗所吸收的知識在這電腦時代已漸行漸遠。對這些時代的弊病， 南師曾十分憂慮的說：未來世界面臨最大的疾病將是精神病。
當人類為自已製造的虛擬現實變為幻網重重的煙幕鏡子遊戲，古人的教晦為我們提供個人及社會評估的準則，亦使我們有明辨的睿智。哲人已遠，道業仍長，智慧的火炬將在我們這一代人的肩上繼續傳承。沒有足夠的智慧，悲天憫人的行者很難有所作為。在儒釋道中存有我們需要的智慧、工具、藍圖、指引等，可使我們在未來時代航向彼岸。
我們必須堅定目標，追隨 南師的步履，為新一代種下先賢的種子，並培養已被種下的種子萌芽、茁壯。
附：英文版。
Tucked in the Billowing Sleeve of a Sage
I met Master Nan in 1989 when destiny brought me to live on the same street as he in Hong Kong. A Buddhist nun, Ven. Hong Ren, whom I had met at the Buddhist Library arranged for me to meet him. As a Westerner seeking the wisdom of the East, little did I know that I did not just find a teacher, but rather, an immeasurable treasure trove!
At that time my Chinese was very poor, but somehow, he was able to communicate much to me. In my first conversation with Master Nan, he asked me if I was having any difficulty in my meditation practice. I told him that thoughts would often disturb my mental quiet. Master Nan then asked me where thoughts come from. I closed my eyes, observed my mind, and saw that thoughts come out of nowhere. I told this to Master Nan and he asked me where the thoughts went after they left. I observed again and saw that they simply disappear back into nowhere. After reporting this finding, Master Nan looked me straight in the eye and said, “Right, so don’t worry about them.”
Being just a short walk away, Master Nan bid me to come for dinner every night. I had the great fortune of being able to sit at the dinner table night after night and listen as Master Nan imparted his wisdom to guests from all walks of life. The other students did their best to help me understand his teachings as my Chinese slowly improved. Over the weeks and months, Master Nan gently poked holes into my ideas of what Buddhism, spiritual cultivation, and enlightenment were all about, and pushed open my mental walls of limitations. He taught me to stop grasping at thoughts and observe what is beyond them.
Master Nan can be described as a distinguished looking gentleman with a petite frame and strong features. He usually wore a dark blue, traditional Chinese long robe or “chang pao" for men, and on his feet were a pair of cloth kung fu slippers. There was always a cup of hot Oolong tea, a bowl of salted peanuts, and a tiny folded wet towel for finger wiping on the table next to his chair – the chair in which only Master Nan sat! As to the quality of Master Nan’s voice, it was something very special. It had many moods - sometimes calm and smooth like a lake, sometimes like a babbling stream, and sometimes like the roaring ocean. In any case, the sound of his voice was always deep and sonorous.
It is difficult to put into words all that I have learned from Master Nan. The wisdom of his teachings continually unfolds within my life. For example, he taught me to see things for what they are - to unwrap things from their cultural packaging or from my preconceived notions and prejudices and most importantly, to distinguish the appearance of something [相] from its function [用] and its essence [體].
In relation to everyday life, Master Nan stressed the importance of being clear about the role that one is playing and the responsibilities that come with it. Many problems occur because people are not clear about the role that they ought to be playing. For example, if one wants to be a lay practitioner, then one must balance one's responsibility to work and family with one’s commitment to practice. One must learn how to include one’s work and family in one’s spiritual practice. On the other hand, if one has a calling to live a monastic life, then one should put all their effort into living the true spirit of a monastic. Since I have played many roles, this teaching has been important and helpful in aligning my energy in relation to the priorities each role demands.
As my Chinese improved, I was able to help with the translation for the western guests and in 1997, I did the oral translation for the week-long retreat in Pacific Place for Peter Senge and other foreign participants. In the year leading up to the retreat, I had been working on the translation of the book, The Diamond Sutra Explained, and would consult with Master Nan regularly to make sure that I understood the meaning of certain passages correctly. Eventually, the translation was published in 2005.
Recently, having been working the translation of Master Nan’s commentary on the Analects, I have gained a deeper appreciation of who Confucius was and what he was trying to do for the society of his time. The lives of Confucius and Master Nan, in many ways, parallel each other. Both lived through tumultuous times, both had to leave their home state and wander only to return in old age to their homeland. They were teachers, learned in many fields and arts and life itself, but not scholars in the traditional sense, nor did either have too high an opinion of bookish, ivory tower scholars. They both wove together the worldly and the spiritual. They had students from all walks of life, were advisors of statesmen of all ranks, were flanked by loyal followers, or so it seemed, as many were there for the social connections. And, both were most concerned about the deterioration of people’s virtue, of the culture, and of the general order of society.
I believe this is why Master Nan could go beyond the words of the ancient texts to see the men who spoke them, the events of those ancient times, and the significance of their lives’ work. Master Nan stretched his reach across 2500 years to grasp the hands of Confucius, Laozi, Mencius who in turn were reaching further back into antiquity to hold the hands of King Wen and so forth. A chain of sages, each one stretching their arms as wide as possible, sleeves aflutter in the winds of change, holding tight to the treasures of the culture during chaotic times in order to pass them forward so they would be available to later generations and not disappear.
In this age of virtual experience, hyper-connectivity, and information overload, the younger generation’s understanding of and connection to their cultural heritage is diminishing rapidly. We are in the midst of making a break from the history of humanity. As various old world cultures, customs, and societal structures crumble, familial and emotional connections suffer, as does knowledge gained through personal experiences, in the Information Age of Internet and computers. Master Nan lamented that mental illness will be the next greatest health challenge the world will face.
As the external “reality” created by humans becomes an ever more complex game of smoke and mirrors, these ancient teachings provide us with standards for personal and societal assessment, and the means to gain powerful clarity and wisdom, without which, it would be extremely difficult for the caring compassionate person to effectively take action in the world. Within Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism are the wisdom, the tools, the blueprints, the guidance and so forth which we need to navigate the times to come. These great sages are no longer with us, and so it falls upon us to carry forth the torch. Let us now make it our mission to continue in Master Nan’s footsteps, planting new sagely seeds and nurturing those which have started to grow.